Benching Daniel Jones is right move, but Giants risk fractured locker room if backups struggle too

This week, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is expected to join the unfortunate company of other players who have been benched because of the injury guarantees in their contracts.
It happened last season in Denver, when the Broncos sat Russell Wilson to avoid him suffering an injury so bad that they’d be on the hook for his $37 million guarantee for 2024.
It also happened to Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who would have netted an additional $11.25 million in guaranteed money had he got injured.
The same goes for Colts quarterback Matt Ryan in October 2022 and Raiders quarterback Derek Carr later that season (both of theirs would have been $7.5 million each).
You get the point.
And while benching Jones (whose injury guarantee is $23 million) is obviously the right move, the Giants better hope things improve under Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito — otherwise they risk hurting locker room morale worse than it already is amid this lost season that keeps getting worse.
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The “why” is simple: As much as fans may disagree, football players are not pro-tank — even if it would help land the Giants their much-needed franchise QB in the draft. The average NFL career is too short for a player to intentionally underperform, just for the team to draft their potential replacement with their higher picks.
So, yes, even at 2-8 — which no team in the Super Bowl era has ever flipped into a playoff berth — the Giants’ main focus is winning.
This is why Brian Daboll and Co. need to handle this benching carefully. Whether that’s simplifying the offense to better suit Lock or DeVito’s playstyle or leaning more on the run game, Daboll better hope his team — which is averaging 15.6 points per game and about a seven-point loss per week — sees an offensive spark after they (likely) make the Jones announcement this week.
He also must properly communicate the switch to his club, including an explanation as to why it benefits them this season.
At the time of Russ’ Week 17 benching, for instance, then Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy said, “It was a surprise to everybody in the locker room. He (coach Sean Payton) just told us out of nowhere.” One anonymous player told ESPN at the time that players were, “Pissed for Russ. Just pissed for Russ, a lot of us.’’
Keep in mind: The Broncos were 7-8 with just two games remaining when they benched Wilson. They were already mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
If the Giants make the decision this week, and the new starter looks terrible, they would essentially be waving the white flag with seven games still to go in the season. Like Jones or not, that would not go over well in the locker room — at all. If management doesn’t care about the results, why should the players?
Ryan’s situation in Indianapolis is a bit more similar to Jones’ (albeit with fewer wins). After their Week 7 loss to the Tennessee Titans in 2022, then coach Frank Reich sat Ryan for backup Sam Ehlinger, despite the team’s 3-3-1 record to that point.
Unsurprisingly, the team was perplexed.
“Everybody’s got their own opinions about it,” said center Ryan Kelly. “I’m not going to get into mine, but certainly, I think everybody’s a little bit surprised. So it is what it is.”
Three weeks (and three losses) later and Ryan was the starter again.
Look, none of this is to say Jones is being wronged here. He’s had more than enough opportunities to lift the offense throughout his six seasons (the 2022 outlier aside) and has failed each time. Pulling the plug on him during a bye week after a loss to the lowly Panthers is the smart move.
But if things continue to sputter under the new QB, and Jones doesn’t at least get a chance to win his job back, Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen better be ready to field a lethargic, unmotivated team to wrap up 2024.
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Ryan Novozinsky may be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on X @ryannovo62.